Top 10 Best Steel Roller Coasters in North America

Number 10: Tie: Ride of Steel and Superman: Ride of Steel

••• Darien Lake.

There are a ton of steel roller coasters. They are, by far, the most popular type of thrill machine. Although within the category, there are all kinds of sub-genres such as inverted coasters, launched coasters, and hypercoasters. But only a few -- well OK, 10 -- can make this list of the best steel coasters.

Speaking of hypercoasters, let's start with number 10, which is a tie between the essentially similar Ride of Steel at Darien Lake in Darien, NY and Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags America in Mitchellville, MD. They are known as hypercoasters for breaking the 200-foot height level, and they both deliver the goods in speed, acceleration, and airtime.

Up next: Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa

Continue to 2 of 10 below.

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Number 9: Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa

One of the world's best inverted coasters, Montu takes its riders careening on a wild journey in a train that hangs below the track. It's an incredible sight when Montu sends a trainload of dangling legs literally head over heels through one of its many inversions. It's even more incredible to experience the G-forces of Montu's inversions and other elements.

Number 8: Maverick at Cedar Point

With many of its sister rides towering over it at the coaster-crazy park, Maverick is proof that bigger is not necessarily better. Great things can come in relatively small packages. And with its twin launches, super-smooth ride, and wild layout, Maverick is a great thing. Read my Maverick coaster review.

Number 7: X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain

••• Six Flags. Used with permission.

Valencia, CA

An utterly unique coaster, X2 is the world's first "4th dimension" thrill machine. Its seats are on the left and right wings of the train, and they spin (in the 4th dimension) independent of the train as it travels the track. With a nearly vertical 215-foot drop and speeds reaching 76 mph, it is intimidating and totally disorienting. What a rush!

Number 6: The Incredible Hulk at Islands of Adventure

It dominates the front section of the park with its outrageous green track, its crazy-looking launch tube, and its trainloads of cars doing precarious flips in the air as they emerge from the tube. Hulk is as wild to watch as it is to ride.

Number 5: Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure

Another hypercoaster from the ride wizards at Bolliger & Mabillard (also known as B&M), Nitro is silky smooth and offers a wonderful combination of extreme height, speed, and airtime. It is among some wonderful rides at Great Adventure, including another acclaimed thrill machine (although the one is wooden), El Toro. Read my Nitro coaster review.

Number 4 (tie): Sheikra and Griffon at Busch Gardens Parks

The continent's first diving coasters take riders to the edge in precariously open trains, taunts them for a few moments, then drops them 200 feet straight down. They are similar to one another. Read my Sheikra coaster review and Griffon coaster review.

Number 1: Superman the Ride at Six Flags New England

A near-perfect blend of thrills, coaster elements, pacing, location in the park, and other features pushes this Superman-themed coaster up (up and away!) to the top of the list. Read my Superman the Ride Coaster Review.